The paper presents a thermodynamic analysis of a single cylinder four-stroke spark-ignition (SI) engine fuelled by four fuels namely iso-octane, methane, methanol and hydrogen. In SI engines, due to phenomena like ignition delay and finite flame speed manifested by the fuels, the heat addition process is not instantaneous, and hence ‘Weibe function’ is used to address the realistic heat release scenario of the engine. Empirical correlations are used to predict the heat loss from the engine cylinder. Physical states and chemical properties of gaseous species present inside the cylinder are determined using first and second law of thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, JANAF thermodynamic data-base and NASA polynomials. The model is implemented in FORTRAN 95 using standard numerical routines and some simulation results are validated against data available in literature. The second law of thermodynamics is applied to estimate the change of exergy i.e. the work potential or quality of the in-cylinder mixture undergoing various phases to complete the cycle. Results indicate that, around 4 to 24% of exergy initially possessed by the in-cylinder mixture is reduced during combustion and about 26 to 42% is left unused and exhausted to the atmosphere.
Comparative research results of CFR Octane Rating Unit Engine and Dacia Single Cylinder SI Engine equipped with classical Spark Plug and LASER Ignition
